Physician

Physicians

The role of the sleep-disorders dentist in the management of sleep-disordered breathing is expanding and most medical sleep teams are including a properly trained dentist.

The duties of the dentist include:

Case detection (not diagnosis)

Assess candidacy for oral appliance (OA) therapy

Select OA design

Construction, delivery of OA

Titration of OA

Treatment follow-up and monitoring

Collaboration with MD

When to Refer

The recently revised American Academy of Sleep Medicine Practice Parameters (link below) indicate that physicians may refer patients to an experienced sleep disorders dentist for oral appliance therapy as first-line treatment for primary snoring and for mild and moderate OSA.